Multidisciplinary themed issue out now

The just-released Aalto University Magazine 19 looks at multidisciplinarity as a competitive advantage.

In Openings, Vice President Tuija Pulkkinen notes that Aalto is proud of its distinct character, which is unique anywhere in the world. Multidisciplinarity does not emerge by itself, however. A lot of shared experiments, communication and broad-reaching understanding are required to unleash all of the available creative potential.

The issue's main article presents three multidisciplinary projects. Marine Technology Professor Jani Romanoff is in charge of the Cruise & Ferry 2.0 programme, which examines cruise ships from a multidisciplinary perspective. Medical student Visa Sippola is developing a new kind of bone drill in cooperation with mechanical engineering and industrial engineering experts. Pulp Technology Professor Herbert Sixta's Ioncell F research group is developing an environment-friendly textile material, which is fully recyclable. His team includes people from two universities and two corporations.

The International Design Business Management programme pioneered multidisciplinarity at Aalto. Its leader is Professor of Practice Niina Nurmi, whose work applies learning acquired at global top university Stanford.

The English-language In there article follows CodeBus Africa. The student-driven technology project will visit ten African countries during the spring to teach coding to 10–20-year-olds. The article's photos are from workshops arranged in Ethiopia.

A column by Haukilahti Upper Secondary School principal Pekka Piri happily showcases the successful co-existence of his school and our University on the Otaniemi campus.

History is in many ways present in this issue. Among other things, it features the farewell interview of Aalto's first President Tuula Teeri, while the inside covers present photographic peeks of the founding universities' history and the new column Finland 100 showcases the WarSampo online service, an Aalto University project being implemented to mark the centenary of Finnish independence.

The covers and the In-house column provide a first glimpse of the renovated Dipoli, which will become the University's main building next autumn.

Aalto University Magazine is available on the campuses of Aalto University. An electronic version can be read at issuu.com, and some articles are published, in Finnish and English, at aalto.fi/magazine.